Far more insidious are the phrases that seem true, but are actually verbal smokescreens. Every time they've been trotted out, calamity has followed those who believed these phrases. Interestingly, they all have literary corollaries.

Phrase: You need to understand the new metrics.Popular During: Dot-com/tech bubble of 1995-2000, credit default swaps/mortgage meltdown of 2007-2010Literary Correlation: Ecclesiastes 1:9: "So there is nothing new under the sun."Frequency of usage: